


Agnes Nutter's Book Of Aurency

by hikaru9, Z A Dusk (snakeandmoon)



Category: Good Omens (TV)
Genre: AU - human (sort of), Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Aziraphale Loves Crowley (Good Omens), Aziraphale is human, Behind the Scenes, Blow Jobs, Crowley Loves Aziraphale (Good Omens), Crowley has a penis, Crowley is a Fallen Angel, Dirty Talk, Domestic Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Historical - Victorian, Light Bondage, Light Dom/sub, M/M, Rimming, a little hurt/comfort as a treat, aziraphale has a penis, but mostly fluff and smut and the author's attempts at humour, look you all knew i'd have to go there again, mild violence and threat, more tags to be added if necessary, rating and some tags apply to chapters as yet unpublished, sex with invisible Crowley
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-11
Updated: 2021-01-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:01:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 13,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26403871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hikaru9/pseuds/hikaru9, https://archiveofourown.org/users/snakeandmoon/pseuds/Z%20A%20Dusk
Summary: Cheeky Crowley and his Asa are back, baby!This is a companion piece toAurency, and will make much more sense if you've read that.Welcome to a behind the scenes compendium, jam-packed with extras. Planned chapters include:★ Spare scenes that didn't fit the original★ Brand new scenes set during and after the original★ Behind the scenes notes★ Sketches courtesy of the amazing Hikaru9★ Music that inspired me while writing★ A closer look at Asa's worldThis project was inspired by how much you all enjoyed my behind-the-scenes notes the first time round, and the fact that I didn't want to stop writing Crowley and Asa. I'm not planning to start the sequel until later in the year / early next year, so hopefully this will tide us all over :)
Relationships: Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens)
Comments: 134
Kudos: 92
Collections: The Aurency Collection





	1. Index

#  **Index**

Chapter One: You are here!

[Chapter Two](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26403871/chapters/64320550): High Tea (post-canon scene in which Crowley meets Asa's parents)

[Chapter Three](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26403871/chapters/65142496): Story of the Art (with behind the scenes notes from Roo and Allie, and lots of pics!)

[Chapter Four](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26403871/chapters/65212546): Free Will (scene snippet)

[Chapter Five](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26403871/chapters/66493003): Crowley's First Supper (kedgeree recipe)

[Chapter Six](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26403871/chapters/670183183): Encore (NSFW missing scene)

[Chapter Seven](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26403871/chapters/67463317): Asa's World (Edinburgh pictures)

[Chapter Eight](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26403871/chapters/67463830): Duddingston Loch (SFW missing scene)

[Chapter Nine](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26403871/chapters/71108505): Magic (NSFW missing scene)

[Chapter Ten](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26403871/chapters/71148951): Burns Supper (recipes)

[Chapter Eleven](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26403871/chapters/71209959): The Cutest Crowley (art)


	2. High Tea (SFW post-canon scene)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You all told me that you wished you could see what happened when Crowley met Asa's parents. So I wrote this for all of you and I hope you like it *mwah!*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to [Mira Woros](https://archiveofourown.org/users/miraworos) for the beta, which was brilliant as always!
> 
> Cheeky Crowley would especially like to thank Mira for encouraging me to write a realistic reaction to ... well, you'll see in a minute.

“Crowley, this is a terrible idea.”

Crowley gave him that wicked smile, the one that seemed on the verge of tipping over into beaming adoration. Asa knew he would never have enough of it.

He also knew Crowley could tempt him into anything with that smile.

“Surely you didn’t think I’d leave them alone now? Knowing what they did to you?”

Asa tipped his head back for a moment, letting it rest on the leather of the carriage seat. Then suddenly Crowley’s warm hand wrapped itself around his.

“You know I would not ask you to bring me here if it wasn’t important,” the Guardian said, his voice a little softer now.

“You know I’m not vengeful.” Asa sighed.

“And you know that I am.”

Asa laughed and leaned forward, kissing Crowley softly.

“Why is this so important to you? Tell me the truth. You would not usually push for vengeance of any kind, if you knew I was opposed.”

Crowley gave him a long, searching look that warmed Asa’s skin.

“Because I couldn’t protect you then.”

“Beg pardon?”

Crowley reached over and threaded his fingers into Asa’s hair. “Because I couldn’t protect you when you were young, and she was daring to touch you in violence, to terrorize you. I didn’t even know you. Couldn’t protect you from her. Now I can. That’s why it matters. That’s why I need to do this.”

Asa smiled slightly, leaning his forehead against his Guardian’s and sighing softly. “Her Guardian will be able to see you. _She’ll_ be able to see you.”

“I assume so. Is that a problem?” 

“I don’t want you to get into trouble. Hell might not care that you are my Guardian, but we have established that Heaven might.”

Crowley gave a thoughtful hum, kissing Asa’s cheek as he did so.

“If aurents are created to fit their Guardian, your mother’s Guardian will either be a weak-willed coward like her, and thus won’t tell, or they’ll be her opposite and be kind and gentle, and so won’t tell.”

Asa narrowed his eyes. “That’s rather shaky logic, O Wise One.”

Crowley tilted his head, as if considering what to say next.

“Fine. I want more information on what went wrong - with her, not you - during your training. You’re very talented at Aurency -”

“- or I’m better at summoning fallen Guardians than standard-issue ones.”

Crowley grinned and swatted his thigh. “That’s not true. You summoned Sachiel with perfect efficiency.”

“Hmmm … yes, I suppose that is true. And now you have me a little curious. Curious enough to brave my parents, anyway.”

Crowley squeezed his hand and tugged him closer, giving him a look of such tenderness that Asa thought his heart might leap out of his chest. “You don’t need to ‘brave’ them. They wronged you, not the other way around. C’mon, angel. Let’s go and put the fear of God - Satan - Someone into your stupid family.”

Asa nodded and alighted from the carriage, tugging his waistcoat down and straightening his cravat as he looked up at the sandstone edifice of Yew Hall. Crowley opened his magnificent wings as he strode from the carriage to join him, and together they walked to the heavy studded door. Asa pulled the bell cord, hearing the bell resonate throughout the house.

The door creaked open to reveal Ida Fell as prim, proper, and disapproving of the world as she ever was. Upon seeing Asa, she opened her mouth as if to castigate him, then caught sight of Crowley and snapped her mouth shut, looking as if she’d sucked a lemon.

“Oh. I see you somehow managed to conjure a Guardian. It is _your_ Guardian, I take it?”

“No. He stole me from the Guardian warehouse. What in Hell’s name do you think?” Crowley asked as he strode past her into the house. Ida looked as if she might protest, but when Crowley turned back to face her, eyes blazing yellow and eclipse-centred halo showing clearly, she stuttered and shut up. Asa caught her quick glance sideways, and Crowley’s gaze tracking it. That must be where her Guardian stood.

“Hello.” Crowley addressed the other Guardian, who was invisible to Asa, with a smile that belied a world of anger and danger. “Oh, don’t look at me like that. Yes, I’m Fallen, congratulations you have functioning eyes. Except I actually try to help and support my Aurent where you apparently enable yours to be a cruel bitch.”

Asa was stunned into silence for a moment. He hadn’t seen Crowley so angry before.

“You are a disgrace to the name of Guardian. You … you stood by and watched her beat him, destroy his confidence. So don’t you look at me like that. You’re the one who should hide your face in shame.”

Ida looked wide-eyed from Crowley to her Guardian to Asa.

“I thought you weren’t coming back here,” she said haughtily, but with trembling hands. 

“Ida! What the Heaven is - oh, you. I thought you weren’t going to darken our doors again.”

Crowley realised that Michael Fell couldn’t see him at the same moment Asa did. Asa didn’t even have time to respond to Crowley’s wicked grin before the nearest vase was shunting itself off the shelf to smash against Michael, soaking him with water and a detritus of leaves and petals.

“What the ….?”

“Mother, Father.” Asa sounded calmer than he’d expected, bolstered by Crowley’s presence. “Aren’t you going to offer me some tea?”

Ida stuttered something unintelligible and rang the bell to summon Cook, while Michael irritably dabbed at his damp clothes with his linen handkerchief. As they headed into the parlour, Asa watched in shock as Crowley aimed a blow with his wing, clearly aiming for Ida’s Guardian.

“That,” he said in a tone that made Asa’s blood run cold. “Is what happens if you insult my Aurent.”

By the time the three humans and two guardians sat down to tea, the atmosphere was thicker than the cranachan Asa had made for Burn’s Night. Michael was looking between Ida and Asa with a face like thunder.

“You know perfectly well I would rather you keep your angelic nonsense to yourself,” he told his wife sternly.

“It’s not as if I invited them,” she hissed back, and his brow furrowed more.

“Them? You don’t mean the useless boy finally summoned one?”

“Apparently,” Ida said tightly, then put her teacup down and glared at Asa. “What exactly do you want? I am sure Heaven would be intrigued to hear you have a Fallen Guardian.”

Crowley was watching her calmly, though it would have taken a fool to miss the rage simmering beneath the surface. Asa could practically see his quick mind working and felt a sudden thrill of pride. 

“I’m sure they would, Mother,” Asa agreed, his tone cold enough to surprise even himself. “But would they not also be interested to hear how you treated me? And how your Guardian stood by and did nothing? You would not want them to fall …”

He caught Crowley’s almost-smile, just for him, and knew he’d picked the right tactic. He’d never thought about what rules the Guardians had to follow, but he supposed it made sense that they must have some strictures and obligations..

Crowley leaned on the table, chin propped in his hand. “Heaven is very lax when it comes to checking up on Guardians. You’ve had a lot of leeway. But imagine if they knew that you let her treat Asa that way? Maybe even encouraged her? You wouldn’t like Hell, Zeremhiel. Fallen Guardians might as well paint targets on their backs.”

Asa watched as Crowley’s face broke into a wicked smile. Whatever Zeremhiel was like, Asa was confident that Crowley had effectively shut him up, at least for now. Crowley turned his attention to Ida, who flinched back at the sight of him, He calmly reached for a scone, slathered it with butter, and took a bite. Ida’s eyebrows shot up.

“But Guardians …. Guardians can’t eat, or pick things up …”

“This Guardian can. I imagine you’re wondering what else I can do. And very soon you will get the chance to find out, if you don’t answer my questions. Now tell me - what went wrong in Asa’s training? And I don’t mean with him. I mean with you. He’s clearly skilled, so the fault must lie with you, and I want to know what it was.”

Ida huffed and looked down her nose at Crowley, though Asa saw the way her fingers trembled against her teacup.

“The boy clearly had no talent for it. I hardly think you needed to come here and attempt to intimidate my Guardian and myself just to ask that. Asa himself could have told you how useless he was.”

Crowley nodded as if taking all this on board, long fingers easing under the plate nearest to Ida and flicking it so that several fairy cakes found their way into her lap. When he reached for Asa’s hand under the table, Asa understood at once and offered his hand in return so Crowley could link their energy. 

Crowley reached out to clasp Ida’s shoulder and she jumped back so quickly that her chair toppled over and she barely kept her balance. Asa felt a pang of guilt at the sight of Crowley’s handprint vivid red against her shoulder, and gave Crowley a warning look. Crowley glanced back, and Asa saw deep concern flash across his eyes. This wasn’t just vengeance, though it was that, too. He was afraid that Ida was hiding something, and as always, he wanted all the information. 

Michael looked from his wife to Asa in shock and disgust. “Demon! How dare you lay a hand on my wife!”

“Oh, if only you could hear me.” Crowley muttered. “Tell you a thing or two about loving and protecting your child.” He grabbed Asa’s hand again and Asa felt the thrum of energy as Crowley shoved at Michael, hard. Asa wasn’t sure it would work, but the man staggered back against the bureau with a look of horror.

“Get out of here and take your evil spirit with you, boy!”

“No, father. I have a right to answers. I summoned my Guardian perfectly well, and performed the Seeing. I am not a failure as an Aurent, and mother ought to have supported me, to discover why I had such difficulty earlier in my training. If there is a reason, I want to know it.”

“By resorting to violence and parlour tricks, it would seem,” his father said with a snort. “Typical. Can’t you do anything with a modicum of grace and decency?”

Crowley snarled as he stepped closer to Michael, who then shivered all over. Crowley was good at making his presence felt.

“I didn’t perform the Seeing until a few years after you had left home,” Ida said in a thin voice. “The book is not explicit about Aurents performing it before teaching the next in line, but one imagines it might have hindered my teaching somewhat.”

Asa felt as shocked as Crowley looked.

“I wouldn't want to perform the Seeing with a twisted shrew like you either,” Crowley muttered darkly. “But I have never heard of such a thing.”

“I don’t owe you an explanation,” Ida said cooly. “I daresay it had some effect on how well I taught him and that is all you need to know. I would thank you both to leave my house now.”

That should have been it. They should have walked out of there to puzzle it over together at home. But as Asa rose to leave the table, he felt a sudden pressure on his chest, pinning him down. Shocked, he grabbed at the unseen force, but couldn’t get a hold of it. 

Crowley turned at once, his halo suddenly flashing dark fire, scales spreading over his throat as he bared his fangs and rushed towards Asa with a roar. In an instant the pressure was gone and Crowley was on his knees, one hand fisted, presumably to hold Zeremhiel, the other squeezing and clenching as if throttling the other Guardian.

“Stop!” Asa shot over to Crowley, trying to pull him back. Heaven’s sake, the Guardian was impossibly strong. “Crowley, don’t …”

“Don’t what? Don’t behave like the Fallen thing I am?”

“Don’t do something you can’t undo.” Asa tried desperately to drag him away. “Do you want Heaven or Hell to be able to hold this over you, because I don’t. And I don’t want you to hurt him on my account. Please, Crowley.”

Ida stepped forward then, her hand raised as if to strike Crowley, but when Asa looked up at her, she stepped back, shaking. Michael looked frozen, as if he couldn’t decide what he ought to do. 

“He’s not worth it,” Asa said softly into Crowley’s ear. “I don’t care that you’re fallen, or that you’re capable of killing him. Don’t you try and play the ‘you have to accept all of my nature’ card. I do accept you. I simply don’t want to see you dragged into whatever twisted thing my mother and this fellow have become. Let us go home, my love.”

Crowley growled, but his hands unclenched. Then his powerful wing slapped down towards the floor with a sound like a thundercrack, and Asa saw fire sparking from his fingertips as he glared down at his adversary.

“If you ever touch Asa, mention his name, even think of him again, I’ll know, and I’ll make you regret it for the rest of your immortal life.”

Standing up, Crowley seized the sharp carving knife from the table and threw it past Michael’s ear to thud into the bureau beside his head. “Be thankful your son has a more merciful nature than me.” He told Michael. Then he grabbed the tablecloth and gave it a sharp jerk, emptying the contents onto the floor, and the pot of tea over Ida’s feet.

“You’d better pray I don’t need any more information from you,” he snarled at her, then turned to where Zeremhiel had apparently gotten to his feet. “And you should watch your back. I don’t play by the Guardian’s rulebook any more.”

With that he took Asa’s hand and stalked out of Yew Hall, leaving a shocked and rather disheveled silence in their wake.

As soon as they were back in the carriage, Asa turned to Crowley with an exasperated air. “Was all of that truly necessary?”

“Of course it was. Did you think I would let them get away with mistreating you? That I would stand for that sorry excuse of a Guardian daring to put his filthy hands on you? You’re mine. And I protect what is mine.”

Asa tried to protest a little, but his heart was fluttering at the words. And when Crowley pulled him into a slow, loving kiss, he forgot everything but the warmth of Crowley’s mouth, and the strength of his black wings as he curled them around Asa. After a long, delicious moment, Crowley drew back, eyes twinkling.

“Really, Asa, they should just be thankful that Sachiel’s ritual only made it easier for me to touch food and beverages. And cutlery, apparently. Imagine the damage I could do if I had more free reign.”

“Well, you will have to be patient until we have made you as corporeal as he,” Asa laughed, as the cab driver steered the carriage back towards the city. “For now, let us go and enjoy some tea without you throwing it about like the evil spirit you are.”

Anything else he was going to say was lost in another searing kiss that kept him occupied for the rest of the ride back to the bookshop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Behind the scenes notes**  
>  Cheeky Crowley (CC) is just as much in charge as ever! I wasn't sure how he'd react to Asa's parents so I did as I learned during Aurency and let him run the show. 
> 
> He was also grateful to Mira for pointing out that his reaction to someone daring to touch Asa wouldn't be a verbal warning (which is what I wrote the first time) but a full-on attack. After all, that's his Asa! Zeremhiel is lucky to have his wings left, really.


	3. Story of the Art

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Come take a peek behind the scenes with Roo (with some notes from Allie).

**Roo**

Some of the first conversations I had with Allie was about the look of the bookshop and what they had in mind for character designs. Allie wanted Crowley to have long hair and went through my previous artworks to pull out something that matched their vision of the characters. This was excellent for me because I instantly knew what my teammate was looking for in terms of physical attributes for Asa and Crowley, AND I knew I would be able to pull it off. 

([link to full NSFW art](https://archiveofourown.org/works/21997936/chapters/52914085#workskin))

The Aziraphale in the picture of mine they pulled for reference had hair a little longer than I typically draw him with, so Asa is distinct from my “normal” Aziraphale in that his hair is a bit longer. Since Asa is a little down on his luck as well as Human in this story, it gives him the appearance of being overdue for a haircut. The idea was to have him a bit shabby and faded, but still stubborn. Whereas Crowley is very well put together and fashionable to hint at his supernatural origins. 

Allie gave me a basic idea for the look of their clothing as well as the story being set in the Victorian era, but other than that, I pretty much had free rein.Asa being a Scottish human in an AU gave me the opportunity to change up Aziraphale’s mostly already Victorian look. The biggest alteration I made was to the cut of his waistcoat to one that is less flattering on him. It was to lend to the idea of him being a bit out of place with his society (lol gay) as well as his family (lol failed aurent). I also added shirt stays to his biceps because I love the look of them. Crowley’s ensemble is designed to scream prosperity since he is not only supposed to embody the man of Asa’s dreams but also be Asa’s fortune and good luck charm. As a result I made his waistcoat look like a sumptuous brocade. Or tried at least haha!

His outfit is also supposed to make him look more dark and moody but he ended up being more of a jovial character than Allie originally planned. His clothing ended up a bit more colorful too since I lined his coat with blue. Originally it was because I was going to line his coat with the night sky, but then I kinda forgot about it for the final pic, lol whoops.

Crowley’s halo was the element I was most nervous about. Allie described is as a crescent shape exuding darkness and having symbols on it. Fortunately they had a picture approximating the look of the symbols. The idea of darkness and a crescent shape got me thinking about solar and lunar eclipses and what if the ‘breaking’ of a demon’s halo was their halo being eclipsed by darkness? I thought it was a pretty cool idea and Allie agreed. The rays of darkness are nice and sharp for a jagged, broken obsidian feel.

Asa’s bookshop is not at all the bookshop owned by Aziraphale in the Good Omens show. Allie wanted it to be a much smaller place that had a ‘fade elegance’ to it. The prospect of designing a whole new space for Asa was a little daunting but very exciting, and these were actually the first sketches I made in conjunction with the ‘Aurency” project. Normally I’m all about the characters, but the bookshop is so closely tied to Aziraphale and by extension, Asa; it was just as much of a character. The main focal feature of the shop was to be a nice chandelier, lol clearly the only thing Asa hadn’t gotten secondhand. I know at the time they used mostly gas lighting, but I designed it to have candles because he had a slumlord Gabriel to deal with and thought it would be interesting if the building wasn’t outfitted with gas lines. The wall sconces were made to match the chandelier and I placed them under draped curtains to ensure the place was a total fire hazard! Sorry Asa! The chandelier unfortunately never actually made it into the final illustrations, which I was a little sad about, but I made sure to include at least a wall sconce. To be honest, I’m not sure it really made it into the fic, but Crowley kinda took over the whole endeavor and we just let him. He knew what he was doing. Thanks for taking this little behind the scenes journey with me! -Roo

**Allie**

The bookshop sketches really helped set the tone for the opening. My original idea was a bit shabbier (more on the “faded” side of “faded elegance”.) But after seeing Roo’s sketches I got a strong sense of the setting, and steered more towards the “elegance” side of the equation, which in hindsight I think gave Aurency a lot of its vibe.

Fun fact: I didn’t realise until we started talking about this chapter, that Roo had also planned for the bookshop to have no gas lines, but only candle sconces. That had been my plan too, but somehow I ended up writing about gas lamps. Of course, the gas supply became important for a certain bathing scene, so I assume the whole thing was Cheeky Crowley’s ploy to make sure he could take a bath with Asa.

I’d envisioned Crowley as finely dressed because ~~we all deserve a treat~~ , like in the show, he enjoys the latest fashions. To me his beautiful hair and fine clothes separate him from the other denizens of Hell. This was important because he’s the only Fallen Guardian, which makes him completely unique. I loved the splashes of colour Roo added, and how rich she made his outfit feel.  I had less of a sense of Asa’s style, though I knew he didn’t dress exactly like Aziraphale. Roo’s interpretation of Asa’s look shaped my view of him, and I fell in love with the way her styling of him made him look enough like Aziraphale enough to be recognizable, but also gave him a charm and unique style all his own. 

I was concerned that I wouldn’t be able to explain my idea of Crowley’s halo. But, so long as it was crescent shaped and had symbols on, I was open to ideas about the rest of it! Roo designed it beautifully, and put so much thought into the colours of it (sulphur yellow to represent Hell, fading into red to represent his connection to fire.) The whole idea of a demon’s halo being an eclipse instead of glowing with light captivated me, and so of course I wrote it into the story! The idea became a theme - long before the Seeing, Asa tells Crowley that he’s always preferred night to day, and that he’s excited at the thought of seeing his crescent halo. That sums up the fic to me - Crowley’s halo isn’t broken in Asa’s eyes, but beautiful. The thing he was ashamed of, was perfect in Asa’s eyes. And Asa’s shame, of failing at Aurency, only meant that he hadn’t had the right opportunities to practice yet, as far as Crowley was concerned. They only see beauty in each other.


	4. Free Will (scene snippet)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asa has never known bliss like this. But what if Crowley feels imposed upon? Can he truly be at peace with them being fated for one another?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this snippet as part of a longer scene that would have gone between the first time they have sex (while Crowley is still invisible), and the first time Asa summons Sachiel. As it was, it threw the pacing off, and didn't really tackle anything that wasn't dealt with elsewhere, so I nixed it. But I do like how sweet and gentle it is, so I thought I'd share it, and I hope you like it too.
> 
> This is unbeta'd.

“I wish I could share this with you.” Asa said softly as he ate a delicious-smelling supper of roasted winter vegetables with a honey glaze, and pork chops with apple sauce. “But I am so glad you’re here.”

“Angel, I’ll be here as long as you want me.”

Crowley cupped his hands around the mug of tea that Asa had made for him. When his Aurent frowned at the words, a pit threatened to open in his stomach.

“And no longer.” He added quickly. “Would never want to impose on you.”

“Impose?” Asa put his fork down and sighed, lowering his gaze to stare at his plate. “I have been worrying since … well since I was a child, actually … now seems as good a time as any to raise the question.”

“What question?” Crowley rested his hand over Asa’s in what he hoped was a reassuring manner.

“I have always been a little perturbed by the idea of one’s Guardian being made for one, bound to a person with no say in the matter. Even in my adolescence I was concerned about it. It seems so … so unfair.”

“I think.” Crowley knew he had to choose his next words carefully. “I think you are approaching this in a very human way. You have always known free will. You have always had that. Angels don’t know what that is like.”

“You … you don’t?”

“From the moment we’re created, we are subject to God’s will. Oh, don’t misunderstand me! We have our own thoughts and make our own decisions, but always within the auspices of Her plans.”

“Because if you deviate …”

He squeezed Crowley’s hand.

“Exactly. If you deviate, you are excluded from Heaven.”

“But you still wanted to find me, even though you weren’t subject to Her will any more…”

“I did. Asa, being created as a Guardian is an honour. It’s a sacred bond. And yes, I didn’t ask for it, that’s true. But did you ask for springtime blossoms, or oxygen, or soft rain? No. Yet you still appreciate them.”

“So it is … you are … part of the natural order of things?”

“In a manner of speaking.”

Asa nodded slowly, taking a thoughtful bite of his meal. He swallowed, and sat silently for a long while. Crowley was torn between wishing Asa could see him, and being glad there was no one to witness the way he was twisting at his buttons and irritably fiddling with his pocket watch (which no matter what he did insisted on showing only one time - “now”.)

“I could ask you the same.” Crowley pointed out, when Asa remained silent.

“Beg pardon?”

“Isn’t it unfair to you, to be created for me? You didn’t ask for that.”

“No … no I suppose I did not.” Asa agreed in his soft Scottish burr, though Crowley saw the way the corners of his mouth quirked up. “It’s not all bad though.”

“Exactly. In fact I would guess it’s at least seventy percent good.” Crowley teased, nudging Asa’s knee with his own.

“Oh, I think last night rounded it up to an even hundred.” Asa smiled, his hand finding Crowley’s face and caressing it softly.

“Look, angel, I like asking the big questions more than most Guardians, but I don’t need to question this. If we hadn’t been created for one another, I am certain our souls would still have gravitated together. Some things are beyond time, and fate, and God’s will.”

Asa pretended to look shocked. “Blasphemy!”

“What else did you expect?” Crowley grinned, drawing Asa closer and kissing him slowly and tenderly.

“Nothing. I know your wily ways.” Asa smiled against Crowley’s mouth, pushing his hands into his Guardian’s hair. “Tempter.”

“But you’re so willingly tempted.”

Asa laughed, filling Crowley’s chest with warmth.

“Always.”

  
  



	5. Crowley's First Meal (recipe)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I thought it would be fun to share a recipe for the first meal Crowley gets to enjoy!

In the epilogue, Asa tells Crowley that he makes a great kedgeree, and plans to make it for Crowley, as his first meal.

So what the heck is a kedgeree? If you haven't come across it before, kedgeree was a popular Victorian breakfast food, originally adapted from an Indian recipe. It's a dish of rice with haddock, eggs, and spices, and it's honestly delicious. It's one of my favourite foods! Here's how I make it. I'm not sure if it's as good as Asa's ;-)

**Ingredients (serves two, but it's easy to scale up)**

  * 1 cup of long grain rice
  * 1 litre fish, chicken, or vegetable stock
  * 2 eggs
  * 2 smoked haddock fillets
  * 1 onion, chopped
  * 1 cup of peas (fresh, frozen, or tinned)
  * 1 tsp each turmeric, parsley, and curry powder
  * Salt and pepper to taste



**Method**

  * Fry the onion in a little butter or oil
  * Add the rice and stir to coat it in the oil
  * Pour in the stock. You'll want to check the cooking instructions on your rice and top up with water if necessary to get the right volume
  * Add the peas, turmeric, parsley, and curry powder, and set the rice to a good simmer
  * While the rice is simmering, hard boil the eggs, and cook the fish using whichever method you prefer (I do mine in the oven - if you want to do that, be sure to pre-heat it before you start!)
  * When the rice is done, add salt and pepper to taste. Flake the fish, chop up the eggs, and stir through the rice



And there you have it! Crowley's first supper.


	6. Encore (NSFW missing scene)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In Chapter Six of Aurency, Asa and Crowley took a bath and both clearly had sex on their minds! Another sex scene didn't fit the flow of the story (sorry Cheeky Crowley), so here's a deleted scene showing what happened after the fade to black.
> 
> So basically an entire chapter of smut!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The section in italics at the beginning is from chapter six of Aurency, to give a little context.

_“And we shall make one.” Asa lathered soap in his hands, and rubbed them over Crowley’s chest and stomach, then down his arms. “But quite frankly all I have to offer right now is a good working knowledge of literature, and some rusty but impressive billiards skills. You can affect my direct reality but not much beyond that, which means you cannot torment Driscoll unless I am practically sitting on him, and I have to draw the line somewhere. Let us focus on our next attempt at the Seeing, tomorrow. That matters far more to me. Now … you still seem tense …”_

“Angel …” Crowley breathed, as Asa took hold of his hand and guided him to start stroking his own cock, as he had the previous night.

“Yes, my darling?”

Crowley groaned, leaning his head back against Asa’s broad shoulder. “Just feels so … so good … Asa …”

Asa responded by wrapping his hand more tightly around Crowley’s. “That’s the idea. Tell me how to move, tell me what you like …”

“I like knowing you’re touching me,” Crowley told him honestly. “Never thought I’d … ah, yes, like that … experience this with anyone … yes, Asa, that felt so good …”

“Noted.” 

Crowley heard the word breathed beside his ear, as Asa twisted their joined hands slightly while moving up and down, making Crowley groan. He propped up his ankles on the sides of the bath to spread his legs wider and give Asa better access. 

Asa groaned, free hand dipping down to cup and squeeze Crowley’s balls, and though he couldn’t feel the sensations keenly, the sheer eroticism of it made Crowley harder. Asa gasped, bracketing Crowley’s hips with his strong thighs, his erection pressing into Crowley’s lower back and drawing a loud moan from the Guardian. 

“Christ, you’re so beautiful,” Asa growled against his neck, pumping their hands faster and making Crowley twitch with pleasure.

“You haven’t seen me yet,” he gasped with a laughn. 

“Don’t need to,” Asa told him, moving Crowley’s hand so that they were both stroking and squeezing his shaft. “Everything about you is beautiful. Seeing you will only confirm what I already know about your heart.”

Crowley whimpered, the tenderness of Asa moving his hand almost too much to bear. 

“Angel … angel …” He couldn’t say anything else, couldn’t articulate any of the emotions ricocheting around inside his heart like scattershot. He was so in love and every second with Asa felt so right, but he was so afraid for the future, so afraid that he would never be able to perform the Seeing. Asa seemed to understand, tucking his free arm around Crowley and holding him so close as he worked him to completion, whispering gentle words of love and encouragement as he guided Crowley to rub his own cock until he lost control and came with a shout. Asa wasn’t far behind, whimpering and rutting against Crowley’s lower back until Crowley felt him stiffen, his breath catching in his chest before he sobbed Crowley’s name. 

For a moment they lay still in the warm water, both panting softly, and trembling with aftershocks. Crowley leaned his head back against Asa’s shoulder, one hand dropping to idly stroke his Aurent’s thigh, the other pulling Asa’s hand to Crowley’s lips. Then Asa began pressing kisses to Crowley’s neck and shoulder, his hands exploring Crowley carefully, fingers seeking out every corded muscle, every dip and hollow and sharp angle.

“Oh, God.” Asa sounded overwhelmed, and Crowley could hardly believe that it was because of him. “You are so … oh, Crowley. I love you.”

“I love you too, my Asa. I will never get over the fact that I get to be so intimate with you.”

“My darling, you can be as intimate as you want to be with me. Everything about me is yours. Anything you want.”

The tenderness inside Crowley gave way to something with more heat at the words. Asa had been made for him, was his to love and protect, and the thought that Gabriel had dared to harm him made Crowley growl low in his chest. He felt Asa shiver at the sound. Something possessive rose in him at the memory of finding Asa unconscious. Every last part of Asa belonged to him, from his beautiful quick mind to his soft, delectable body, and he would tear flesh from bone if anyone dared hurt him again. Getting onto his knees in the bath, he turned to face his Aurent, bending down to capture his mouth in a hard kiss.

“Bed, Asa. Now.”

He stood up and climbed out of the bath, reaching back to grab Asa’s hand and pull him up. As soon as Asa was on his feet and out of the tub, Crowley was kissing him, pushing both hands into his Aurent’s hair, tongue demanding that he part his lips. Asa obliged, one hand immediately sliding between Crowley’s legs to find him hard again. Impatient, desperate to be close to his Aurent, Crowley shoved him towards the bedroom, immediately pushing him down on the bed and climbing on top of him, kissing him like a demand.

Asa’s hands were all over Crowley’s body, as if he couldn’t get enough, as if he loved touching him, and even without a strong sense of touch, Crowley could feel the desire in every squeeze and grasp. 

“Yes,” he whispered in Asa’s ear, teeth teasing the shell of it. “Love the way you touch me, don’t stop, ever, I’m yours …”

Asa groaned low and dark, tangling his hand in Crowley’s hair and using the hold to pull Crowley down so he could bite at his neck. His free hand roamed up the inside of Crowley’s thigh, then curved over his hip and backside, fingers dragging up the cleft there. 

“Oh god, oh Crowley….” His eyes were closed, his chest beaded with sweat. When his gentle exploration caused his finger to brush Crowley’s entrance, he moaned like a man losing his mind with pleasure, and Crowley knew he would do anything to hear that sound again.

“Asa,” he rumbled against his ear, reaching down and stroking Asa’s already-hard cock. “Touch me any way you want to.”

Asa tugged his hair at that. “Can you slick my hand as you did your own?”

“Let’s find out …” Crowley took Asa’s hand, and was gratified to learn that yes, he could. 

Asa flushed slightly. “Could you … kneel? It might be easier. If that’s ok. Oh Crowley are you sure you want me to, I’ve never …”

“Angel, I am bloody certain. Please.”

Thus saying, Crowley positioned himself on all fours, reaching back to grab Asa’s hand and guide it to his hip.

“Crowley …”

“Yes?”

“It occurs to me …” Asa paused, cleared his throat, and Crowley knew without looking that he was blushing adorably. “That if involving your own touch was pleasurable when I was stroking you, perhaps we might … use that to our advantage here.”

Oh, dear Satan and all the Fallen. This was going to be the end of him. For a wild moment he was almost glad Asa couldn't see him, couldn’t see the way his face heated and his cock twitched, already leaking at the thought of what Asa had proposed.

“I think as I cannot see you, it would be easier if I were to, um, enter you first, then if you wanted to, you could …”

Oh, he wanted to. The thought alone had his legs trembling and his breath shortening. Asa ran his fingers so gently down the cleft of his buttocks, finding his entrance and rubbing slowly. Hell’s sake, it didn’t matter that the touch was deadened. Just the knowledge of what they were about to do had him gripping the base of his cock to keep from losing control too soon. 

“I wish I could see you,” Asa whispered as he slid his finger so carefully into Crowley. “What a beautiful sight you must be, bent over and spread open for me.” He rubbed slowly as he spoke, taking his time. When he eventually added a second finger, Crowley whimpered softly. Although Asa’s touch was faint, Crowley could feel the fullness, the way his body clenched helplessly against Asa’s fingers.

“Now, my love …”

Asa told him, and how could Crowley do anything but obey? Letting go of his cock, hoping he could last more than a few seconds without the pressure, he reached back and carefully pushed his own finger inside himself, alongside both of Asa’s. He heard Asa gasp, and felt his hand tremble slightly. 

“Find the best place.” Asa told him in that soft Scottish burr. “I want you to make yourself come while I have my fingers buried inside you …. you feel so good, my love, so warm and tight. Won’t you let me hear you lose control?”

Crowley groaned, hips grinding into his own touch as he pressed and rubbed against the spot that made sparks shoot up his back. Asa quickly picked up on the rhythm and pressure Crowley liked, using his own fingers to press Crowley’s down, guiding his movements. All decorum flew out the window as Crowley writhed, hips bucking wildly into the pressure, feeling himself stretched tight around his and Asa’s fingers. He could hear himself crying out, the sound loud in the tiny bedroom. 

When Asa reached his free hand under Crowley’s body, finding his cock and caressing it as if he couldn’t bear to be without touching it for a moment longer, the light sensation was too much, like the final marble that causes a glass of water to overflow. Before he could even react, he was coming all over the bed, and Asa’s hand. He could feel Asa trembling as he pressed closer, branding desperate kisses into Crowley’s back. 

“Let me, Asa, let me …” Crowley was pulling Asa to him almost before he’d turned around, dragging his Aurent to the bed and kissing all over his body, pinning him down.

“Yes, Crowley, whatever you want …” Asa wrapped both legs around him. “Do you … um … the blindfold …?”

“Whatever makes you most comfortable.” Crowley told him between kisses, tongue dragging over Asa’s chest and teasing his nipples into hard peaks.

“I … oh god do that again … need you inside me right now, don’t want to wait, please ….”

Crowley growled at the words, reaching down to ease a hastily-slicked finger into his lover’s body, watching in adoration as Asa arched, fisting his hands in the sheets.

“Mmm, I know you’re impatient, angel, but I think this will be worth the delay …” So saying, he leaned down and ran his tongue over the length of Asa’s cock, drawing the head into his mouth and sucking slowly and rhythmically. Asa keened with pleasure, hands finding Crowley’s shoulders and gripping tight. Groaning against Asa, and noting with pleasure how that made him shudder, Crowley slid a second finger past Asa’s entrance, rocking his hand in time with the ministrations of his mouth. Even through his ghostly senses, he could feel Asa’s cock swelling to full mast in his mouth, wetness beading at the head. 

Asa was shaking and Crowley guessed it was from the effort to stay still.

He pulled off a moment to tell his Aurent, “Move. Let me see what I do to you.”

Then he swallowed Asa deep again, and his angel responded by rocking his hips, thrusting quickly into Crowley’s mouth, deep enough that the head of his cock brushed the back of Crowley’s throat.

“Crowley, please, please I want you inside me, I need it, I need you, I’ll do anything you want …”

“Angel.” Crowley spoke low against his ear as he guided the tip of his cock, already hard for Asa once more, into position, revelling in the way Asa shouted as it breached him. “I am most enamoured of the thought of you, pinned under me and willing to do anything I want.”

Asa’s hips bucked hard in response and Crowley felt a wicked smile spread on his face as he slid his hands up the back of Asa’s thighs and shoved them back and open to give him better access, undulating his hips in long, slow strokes with a hard snap at the end of each one. As Asa writhed and pleaded for more, Crowley leaned down to kiss him, panting softly against him.

“Next time, I’ll bind your wrists and ankles. You’d like that, wouldn’t you? Unable to move, or see me, completely at the mercy of my every whim … I could have you begging for my cock, begging to be allowed to touch it, lick it ….”

“Crowley!” Asa found his shoulders and held on for dear life, clenching so tight that Crowley could feel it.

“I want it all,” Crowley whispered against his lips. “I want to discover every possible way to have you.” 

When Asa moaned at the suggestion, Crowley kept talking. “I want to pin you down and drive into you so hard you can’t breathe. I want to bind you and have you obey my every whim, because I’ve seen the way you bite your lip when I tell you what to do.” Asa gasped and flushed at the words, and Crowley rewarded him with a hard thrust. “I want to explore every possible way to use my tongue and fingers until you’re crying with pleasure, tease you until you’re out of your mind with frustration. You’re so beautiful, Asa, I want to know how you sound when you lose every last inhibition. Would you swear? Tell me every filthy thought in your mind? Plead for me?”

Asa keened sharply, throwing his arms around Crowley and kissing him like he was suffocating and Crowley’s kiss held the only oxygen he needed. 

“I want all of it,” he told Crowley between kisses, the words ragged as he sucked at Crowley’s lower lip. “I want everything, all the time. I can’t get enough of you.”

“I will never have my fill of you,” Crowley told him, moving harder, hips hammering against Asa’s until Asa was scratching Crowley’s back and tugging his hair, thrashing and jerking underneath him. Asa’s eyes were closed tight as he shoved his hips against Crowley’s. Crowley moaned softly. How could something that he could barely feel, feel so good? Desperate to give his lover all the pleasure in the world, he braced one hand against the wrought iron headboard and took Asa in a hard, brutal rhythm, watching his reactions carefully to gauge when he was hitting the best spot, and keep his focus there. He reached between them to stroke Asa’s cock firmly in time with his thrusts, burying his face against Asa’s neck and whispering how perfect he was, as Asa lost control and screamed his name, coming so hard that the tremors echoed into Crowley’s body.

They collapsed onto the bed together, both panting, kissing desperately as if they could somehow quench the fire between them. Crowley couldn’t stop stroking every inch of Asa’s body. He even manifested his wings so he could wrap them tight around Asa’s body, pull him into their feathered embrace.

“You’re mine,” he told him in a low, dark voice. “My Aurent. My intended. And I swear I’m yours, forever.”

“Forever might not be long enough for all the things I want you to do to me, and for me to do to you,” Asa teased.

Crowley laughed for joy, the tension he’d felt earlier dissipating as Asa’s love melted it like snow surrendering to the sun. Feeling utterly content, his heart swelling with adoration and protectiveness, he gathered Asa even closer until they were entwined, nothing between them but devotion and desire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Comments are fuel for hungry authors - I'd love to hear what you liked as it encourages me to write more.


	7. Asa's World (Edinburgh pictures)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> These are the pictures I sent Roo at the start of our collab, to give her a sense of Asa's world. I used vintage ones taken during Asa's lifetime where I could, but had to sprinkle in three modern ones.

Prince's Street, where Asa has his bookshop (1868). See that Scottish rocket-ship looking thing? That's the Scott Monument, and I imagine Asa's shop on a corner opposite that.

A Georgian shopfront (modern photograph). I think Asa's shop looks a bit like this but with more red and deep coloured wood, and a little bit shabbier.

Cowgate (top) and The Grassmarket (bottom) (1860s). Both places Asa might have gone through on his way home from the Pickwick Club, or browsing for books, depending on the route he took.

Deacon Brodie's Tavern (modern picture), where The Pickwick Club meets, and where Asa and CC first confront Dagon. Fun fact - this is where I went to celebrate the night I got married!

  
  
Candlemaker Row (1907). Candlemaker Row is where Asa encounters the young couple who are selling their belongings and who just, by coincidence *ahem*, happen to have a rare and valuable book going for a song!

  
  
Skating on St Margaret's Loch (1870). St Margaret's Loch is in Holyrood Park, a royal park near the center of the city. I had in my mind that Asa and CC would go skating here, but there was no space for it. However, I do have something Aurency-themed planned for Christmas *wink* so watch this space.

The Old Waverley Hotel (modern picture), where Asa plays his fateful game of billiards against Dagon. I couldn't confirm 100% that the hotel had a billiards room in Asa's time, but most major hotels in the areas seemed to, and the building is gorgeous and just across the street and down a bit from his shop, so I went with it.


	8. Duddingston Loch (SFW missing scene)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a section in Aurency, right before Asa summons Sachiel, that goes like this:
> 
> _Asa lit the candle, into which he’d etched the symbols Agnes had drawn for him in her letter, interlocking lines and curves that looked like arcane writing. Ringing the bell once, he picked up the white swan’s feather (procured during a very amusing trip to Duddingston loch where Crowley had watched Asa try to sneak up on the swans) and closed his eyes._
> 
> My wonderful beta [Mira](https://archiveofourown.org/users/miraworos) (who also beta'd this chapter!) commented that she would love to have seen that trip, and I thought you know what, so would I!! Though I think it came out less funny and more touching, but either way I hope you enjoy taking a little trip out of the city centre with CC and Asa :)

“A swan’s feather?”

“I would have expected you to know that, Crowley,” Asa grumbled as they walked towards Duddingston Loch. “You are a Guardian, after all.”

“Am I? I hadn’t noticed.” Crowley was feeling more than a little jittery about the prospect of Asa summoning Agnes’ Guardian, but he could see the logic in it. Despite his apprehension, it was rather nice to be out on a crisp winter day, walking through Edinburgh towards Holyrood Palace, and then onwards to the tiny village of Duddingston with its freshwater loch. 

Asa had insisted they walk the three miles. “Good for the constitution, dear boy!” He’d said, but Crowley suspected he’d chosen to walk because they could talk more easily than if they’d taken a carriage. The thought that Asa wanted to take any opportunity to talk with him, thrilled Crowley in a way he couldn’t quite define. It made him feel seen, somehow. Important. 

“Well, you had training before your fall, didn’t you?” Asa asked, with a bluntness that Crowley found refreshing. They could do this. They could talk about his fall as an event in his life, but not something that had to define him. 

“Obviously.” Crowley took Asa’s hand and raised it to his lips, pressing a soft kiss to the knuckles, thrilling at the way Asa drew in a sharp breath. “But this is a secret ritual, remember?”

“True … I suppose I assumed you might know something about how it works, and why I must procure a blessed swan’s feather.”

“Didn’t Agnes say it was something about acting as a proxy? You’d better pick a good one.” he added with a smirk. “Wouldn’t want to offend … what was his name?”

“Sachiel,” Asa told him, putting down the picnic basket at the edge of the loch.

“Sounds like a sanctimonious idiot,” Crowley said, and Asa tutted. 

“Do not judge him, Crowley. Agnes was so wonderful, I refuse to believe her Guardian will be any less so. I do know you are nervous.” He groped along Crowley’s jaw to orient himself so he could lean up and press a kiss to Crowley’s cheek. “But let us handle this nonsense before worrying about summoning him.”

“Fine, but … how do you intend to get a swan’s feather? Damn grouchy things, from the look of them,” he added as he watched a swan see off two children who had gotten too close, by way of a very impressive display of hissing and beating its wings.

“Luck,” Asa muttered as he strode determinedly towards the loch, clearly scanning the environs for any discarded feathers, but of course there were none. Crowley watched with a little concern, and a lot of interest. What was Asa going to do? He could hardly just pluck one. 

“Ah, I spot one!” Asa reported, with enthusiasm that sounded obviously false to Crowley’s ears. Then he stepped closer, bending as if to retrieve something from the ground. He was met with a loud angry hiss for his troubles, and a large and belligerent swan rushing him. Crowley ran forward on instinct, but was too late to save Asa from a tumble into the mud. They retreated to a safe distance, Crowley torn between concern and laughter, Asa panting hard and covered in mud.

“Oh this is ridiculous,” he groused, and Crowley felt a twinge of sympathy. But needs must, and so Asa quickly went back into the fray, getting as close as he dared to the swans while wandering around the shore of the loch and looking for wayward feathers. There were one or two promising specimens, but the previous owners of said feathers were not keen for a stranger to pilfer them. And so each attempt ended in a muddy and annoyed Asa, a very angry swan, and no feather. 

“Crowley.” Asa reached an idle hand to stroke the Guardian’s thigh, and the easy intimacy of it made Crowley shiver in delight. “Might this be one of those times when you could lean on the energy around me? Provide a wee bit of assistance?”

“I’m not sure I can influence living birds, but I’ll try.”

“I am going to get this blasted feather no matter what it takes. We must talk to Sachiel. I will beg, borrow, or steal if I must.”

“Or take up poaching.” Crowley ran his hand lazily through Asa’s hair. He could almost feel the softness, and, Satan, how he longed to touch his Aurent properly.

“Steady on, dear boy,” Asa murmured against Crowley’s mouth as he leaned up for a kiss. “Let’s not do anything drastic.”

Any reply Crowley might have made was lost as he kissed Asa back. The loch was deserted on such a cold day, but there was still something illicit about kissing his lover out of doors, even though no one but Asa could see him. Crowley couldn’t help a thrill at the thought, nipping gently at Asa’s lips.

“I can’t stop thinking about last night,” Asa confided as they kissed, his hand seeking out Crowley’s chest and caressing it softly. “I could never have imagined anything like that … like you.”

Crowley groaned softly and kissed him again. “Me neither, my Asa. Come now. Let’s go and bother the swans again.”

While Asa busied himself trying every possible tactic, including wiggling through the long grass on his belly, imitating a swan call, and throwing bread to distract them, Crowley did his best to lean on the energy a little. He knew he couldn’t affect the world, but he could affect Asa’s world. It had worked before.

An hour later, Asa was cold and frustrated, and Crowley was starting to think that poaching really might be their best option. Closing his eyes, he made a last ditch attempt to lean hard on the energy. 

The Aurent turned towards Crowley, who was sitting on a blanket atop the frosty grass, with a look of resignation. “We may have to go home and come up with another plan, dear boy. If I agitate that brute of a bird again, I rather fear it might break a limb.”

Crowley, knowing he could not heal Asa if he was hurt, voiced his agreement.

Asa was crossing the grass to Crowely, when they both heard a faint, frightened peeping sound. Asa paused in his trajectory and crouched down beside a particularly thick bit of scrub. 

“Oh! Oh, hello darling. Are you stuck?”

Crowley leaned over and saw a juvenile swan, not a young hatchling but most likely from the summer’s brood, helplessly tangled in a thorny bush. 

“No wonder the parents are in such a snit,” he commented. “Probably worried.”

Asa nodded, reaching out and gently pulling the twisted branches aside until he could get both hands under the young bird and carefully lift it free. 

“There you go, young fellow,” he said as he set it on the bank, from whence it waddled quickly towards its parents. 

A look of apprehension crossed the Aurent’s face as one of the adult swans plodded over to him. Only this time it stopped a couple of feet away, spreading its wings and flapping them as if to shake things loose, before turning and plucking a single large white feather. It deposited the feather on the floor, honked loudly, and walked away, ushering its young one before it. 

Asa stared in shock for a moment, then carefully retrieved the feather, and rejoined Crowley, finding him so easily that it made the Guardian’s heart soar.

“Well … that was something,” Crowley muttered.

“It certainly was. Was that your doing?”

“I’m not sure even I could influence that. Besides, I’m not quite so dark and dangerous as to trap a poor youngling in the thicket. Must be you, angel. You’re magic. You almost literally charmed the birds from the trees.”

Asa laughed, the sound so warm and rich that Crowley could have crawled inside it and stayed there forever. Then he took Crowley’s arm, squeezing gently. “Well, be that as it may, my task now is to charm a Guardian from Heaven, which seems much more taxing. Come my love, let us go home.”   


Home. Despite his apprehension about the ritual, the word made Crowley smile. Tucking his wing around Asa, he squeezed him gently close, and held him like that all the way back to the bookshop.

  
  
  
  



	9. Magic (NSFW missing scene)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Asa attempts to learn magic. Crowley attempts to help him. Crowley finds a new use for Asa's scarves and a fun time is had by all.
> 
> CW: Light bondage, D/s and dirty talk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Earlier in the month, I was having a rough day, so I asked my ever-delightful beta [Mira Woros](https://archiveofourown.org/users/miraworos) if she could think of a fun, not plot-heavy, Aurency prompt. Because CC is my emotional support Crowley. She gave me "Asa learns magic", and it occurred to me that CC might find a whole different use for a set of scarves, given that he'd already mentioned having Asa under his command in a previous missing scene, and then this happened.
> 
> Thank you also to Mira for the excellent beta work on it!

“Did it work?”

“Not quite. Try again, angel.”

Asa sighed in frustration and picked up the two scarves he’d sewn together into a longer scarf, half of it vivid blue, the other butter yellow. With, he thought, an impressive flourish, he pulled the joined scarves through his hand, attempting to create the illusion that they’d changed from blue and yellow to red and green. 

“Close.” Crowley’s voice sounded a little nearer, as if he’d leaned forward to listen. “It’s hiding the ring in your palm that’s causing the issue.”

Asa had long been interested in magic, and even more so, since some local performers had started gaining popularity. He’d been to see several shows, and particularly enjoyed those that recreated famous tricks like the spirit cabinet, and showed there was no supernatural influence behind them. It was fascinating, seeing how the tricks worked.

Asa had mentioned his interest to Crowley in passing during one of their evenings of reading and debating. Then, a couple of nights after Sachiel’s visit, Crowley had suggested Asa practice some of the tricks he’d been learning, to take his mind off the Seeing. Privately Asa thought his Guardian was the one who needed a distraction. He knew how frustrated Crowley was that their attempts so far had failed, and he knew Crowley blamed himself.

Asa would have done anything to ease his Guardian’s mind. He had complete faith that the Seeing would work. Crowley was his destiny and he would not settle for less than full connection with him.

At first he’d felt a little self conscious, thinking that it would seem boring to Crowley to watch something as mundane as a simple human magic trick. When Crowley had grasped his wrist and said in that warm voice of his, “I bet your worthless family made you feel silly for your interests. Well, I never will,” he had practically melted. Crowley already knew him so well, which Asa supposed made sense, given that he’d been created to be Crowley’s Aurent.

He wondered if Aurents and their Guardians normally understood one another. It sounded as if Sachiel and Agnes did, but it was hard to imagine his mother being emotionally close to anyone, even an angel. Though, given what Crowley had told him, some angels were probably rather hard to be close to.

“Asa? Are you woolgathering?”

“Something like that.” Asa smiled, determined to keep the mood light tonight. 

“Try again, then.”

The trick should have been simple enough. The blue and yellow scarves were actually pockets, in which the red and green scarves were hidden. A metal ring sewn into the pocket allowed the performer to quickly pull out the second pair of scarves while hiding the first pair in their hand, giving the illusion that the scarves had changed colour.

Asa tried a fifth time, giving a self-conscious laugh when the trick fell apart again at the last minute. There was a sound of movement, and he felt Crowley’s presence directly behind him. When the Guardian stepped close enough that Asa could feel Crowley’s chest pressed against his back, he couldn't repress a sigh of longing. 

“You are going to distract me terribly, dear.”

“Me? No, angel, whatever are you suggesting? I’m here to help.” Crowley took hold of Asa’s hands in his, his fingers gliding, as if by accident, across the sensitive skin inside Asa’s wrists, making him shiver. “Now, if you move like this …”

With a measure of chagrin on Asa’s part, the Guardian’s careful adjustments to Asa’s movements made the trick work much smoother.

“Wonderful! You’re a born magician apparently,” Asa told Crowley. “I do think I’ve made life harder for myself by sewing the scarves so long. It would probably be easier with shorter ones.”

“Mmm, you’re getting it, though. Let’s try again.”

Asa laughed then. “Crowley, you are a millennia-old Guardian, this cannot be terribly exciting.”

“Every moment with you is exciting. Besides, this far beats being in Hell.”

“Hardly a compliment, but I’ll take it,” Asa said drily, threading the scarves back into the pocket, and letting Crowley guide his hands into a flourish, pulling the scarves easily through the ring.

“See? Just needed a helping hand,” Crowley murmured in his ear, causing Asa to reach back and stroke his Guardian’s face, finding him easily.

“How do you do that?” Crowley whispered, sounding awed.

“Do what, darling?”

“Find me so easily.”

“Well in fairness, my love, I have jabbed you in the ribs and nearly walked into you more than once, and just the other morning I narrowly avoided jamming my thumb into your eye.”

Crowley laughed so hard that Asa jumped, startled by the sudden sound so close to him.

“What’s so funny, my fallen angel?”

“For such a romantic, you can be very pragmatic too.”

“Crowley, I am Scottish. And I have been through war. One learns pragmatism. But I feel I can let my romantic self free around you. I feel I can let all of myself free around you.”

“You can, angel. Always. Right, once more, then?”

Asa nodded, moving the scarves through his hands with a flourish, guided by Crowley’s touch. But, perhaps distracted by their conversation, he fumbled the scarves at the last moment and somehow got one of them looped around his forearm. There was a sudden shift in the energy, like the moment before a storm breaks, and then Asa felt the scarf tighten around his wrist, restraining him as Crowley gave a low growl in his ear.

“Oh, God.” Asa leaned back against his Guardian. “Crowley ….”

When he felt Crowley’s hand slide down the front of his body, it was all Asa could do not to grab his Guardian's hand and press it where he was already getting hard. But Crowley knew what he needed, of course he did, and the next moment his palm was warm between Asa’s legs as he rubbed his shaft through his clothes. Asa groaned, overwhelmed by the sheer eroticism of Crowley touching him so unrestrainedly. It made him feel owned by Crowley, and the thought made him push against Crowley’s hand.

“Knew you’d like this,” Crowley hissed softly in Asa’s ear. “What do you say, angel? Want to experiment?”

He gave the scarf a tug as he spoke, igniting a burst of heat in Asa’s core. 

“Yes, yes.” Asa tipped his head back to rest against Crowley’s shoulder. “Anything you want.”

“Mmm, I do like you like this. At my beck and call.”

“Crowley, please ….” Asa grasped at Crowley’s hip with his free hand. “Please, I need you ….”

“Is that so?” 

Crowley mouthed kisses against Asa’s neck, free hand stroking up his Aurent’s side to slide beneath the top of his waistcoat and toy with his nipples through the fabric of his shirt. Asa trembled in response, tilting his head to give Crowley better access. 

“Damn it, Asa.” Crowley muttered against his ear. “After the Seeing, I don’t know how I’m going to stop touching you.”

Asa made a shaky sound of agreement, and Crowley groaned into his neck. “Right. Upstairs. And grab that other scarf.”

When they reached the bedroom, Crowley wrapped both arms around Asa and kissed him thoroughly. Asa returned the kiss with relish, mouth seeking Crowley’s over and over. 

Crowley drew back briefly to speak, but Asa could still feel his Guardian’s arms tight around him. 

“I know we talked just the other night about me restraining you, and you seem delightfully enthusiastic. But I need to know you will tell me if anything feels anywhere south of absolutely wonderful to you, yes? Choose a word you can say to alert me that you want to stop.”

Asa looked thoughtful for a moment. “Holyrood.”

“Excellent. And if you cannot speak, and you want to stop, I want you to snap your fingers. I’ll make sure you have enough leeway to do that. Yes?” Crowley caressed Asa’s face gently. “You promise to signal if you want to stop, or slow down, or do something different?”

“I promise, Crowley.” Asa leaned up for a tender kiss. “But I confess I find myself utterly delighted by the idea of being so at your mercy. If I may, I will use the blindfold this time.”

“Put it on then,” Crowley told him. “But take the rest of your clothes off first. Let me see you.”

Asa did as asked, thinking how free and confident he felt being naked in front of Crowley. When he’d removed the last of his clothes, he blindfolded himself.

“Lie down.” Crowley dropped his voice to a low, commanding tone and Asa thought for a moment that his knees might just buckle. He quickly moved to obey, lying on his back on the bed, and raising his arms above his head so his wrists brushed the bedposts.

“So obedient already, my good boy,” Crowley purred. 

Asa heard the faintest rustle of fabric, then the sensation of Crowley’s bare thighs bracketing his hips. All Asa could think at that moment was how much he wanted to rock his hips up and grind against Crowley, but before he could move, Crowley was leaning forward and tying Asa’s wrists to the bedposts. The movement caused Asa’s cock to brush briefly against Crowley’s lower belly, making Asa whimper softly, hips trying to thrust against him for more friction.

“Impatient.” Crowley sat back, and then Asa’s legs were spread open, his ankles tied to the footposts of the bed. Crowley straddled him again then, and Asa felt long fingers on his hips, holding him down so he couldn’t move. “Keep still a moment and let me admire you. I could drink my fill of looking at you for hours and still want more.”

“Is looking all you want to do?” Asa managed to tease, breathing hard.

“No.” Crowley climbed off Asa, who couldn’t help the pleading sound that escaped him. “But it wouldn’t do to give you too much of what you want, too soon. Where’s the fun in that?”

Asa shivered as Crowley pressed his lips to Asa’s ankles, kissing gently inside each. Then he made his way up each leg, so slowly. It was the sweetest torture, as Crowley methodically kissed up Asa’s legs, and then each arm. By the time he started feathering random kisses to Asa’s sides and shoulders, Asa was gasping at each touch of his lips, writhing helplessly. 

“Crowley please, please ….” he tugged uselessly at his bonds … “please let me kiss you.”

Asa felt the waves of his Guardian’s hair brushing his upper chest as he moved further up the bed testing Asa’s bonds with a sharp tug of his own. Then he leaned down to breathe softly against Asa’s ear. 

“Not what I thought you’d be begging for,” he teased. “Not what I planned to make you beg for.” 

Asa laughed shakily. “Be that as it may, I cannot think of anything else, please, Crowley ….”

Crowley’s fingers threaded through Asa’s hair, and then a ghost of breath brushed his lips. Crowley was so close, so damnably close, but when Asa leaned up to kiss him, the Guardian drew back with a wicked chuckle.

“I don’t think you should get what you want that easily, angel. You’re still far too coherent.”

“Oh, you are evil indeed,” Asa groaned, straining to get closer to Crowley.

“Tell me why I should let you kiss me.”

Asa shivered with pleasure. “Because I crave it … need to show you how I want you … need you …”

Crowley ghosted his fingers so lightly over Asa’s cock, which was nearly fully hard. “Oh, angel, that’s already fairly obvious. But I suppose, you did ask nicely and it only seems fair to reward you, the better to encourage you to beg when you want more than a kiss.”

With that, Crowley pressed his mouth to Asa’s and treated him to a searing kiss, his tongue pressing between Asa’s lips, sucking softly. Asa had only just regained his senses enough to respond, and Crowley had gone.

“Bastard!” Asa swore. “Come back …”

“Oh, I don’t think so …” Crowley’s fingers had migrated to Asa’s hips, caressing softly. “I think you’ve had quite enough for now …” 

Asa drew a sharp breath at the light contact, his hips trying to follow Crowley as he drew away to begin pressing kisses to Asa’s sides and chest in a random pattern that left Asa clenching his fists and panting in short, ragged breaths. 

“You are the most exquisite thing in God’s creation,” Crowley told him, and Asa sighed softly, as giddy with Crowley’s love as he was aching for his touch. “Would have been worth waiting even longer for.” Crowley added.

“As romantic as that is … and believe me it is … waiting is the last thing on my mind right now … Crowley would you just ….!”

“What’s that now?” Crowley pressed a slow, soft kiss to the brand on Asa’s hip, making him whimper. By the time Crowley had traced out a winding path of kisses across Asa’s chest and stomach, making a detour to tease his nipples with the lightest of licks, Asa felt like he was going mad with the want of a firmer and more consistent stroke. 

“Oh … you know very well what I want …”

“But perhaps I want to hear you say it. Or perhaps I want to keep you here and watch you trembling and writhing for me.”

Asa gasped, tugging irritably at his bonds. His cock was painfully hard by now. He could feel the fluid leaking down it, and was rapidly becoming certain that he was going to come the second Crowley touched him. The thought made him give a cry of pleasure and want, hips straining frantically. 

“Need to touch you,” he gasped out.

“So if I let you touch my knee, you’ll be satisfied?”

“Don’t be a pedantic sod, that’s my role.”

“Oh? Then I’ll just keep going …”

Seconds later, Asa felt the soft rasp of Crowley’s wings against his stomach, and a wanton moan escaped him. Then Crowley spoke against his ear - his Guardian was quickly learning how much his voice turned Asa on. 

“How does it feel, knowing you have no control over when you get to feel my touch?”

“Strange,” Asa breathed. “I can feel you all around me, and at the same time, it’s not nearly enough. Last time I could… oh, Crowley ….” he groaned, becoming incoherent for a moment as Crowley stroked his wing over his Aurent’s collarbones … “last time I could get my hands and mouth on you …to not be able to is … oh, my Lord …”

Asa trailed off, unable to think enough to make words, shocks of pleasure needling his skin with every random touch and kiss, in a way that was almost painful, but felt so good. When he felt Crowley’s mouth hot against each nipple, then kissing down his belly, he started struggling in earnest, desperate for more.

“Crowley ….” Asa was begging unashamedly now. “Please, please I need more, I need …. oh, please …”

“And what do you need?” Crowley dragged his wing up the inside of Asa’s thigh, tantalisingly close to his erection, but not close enough. When he let his feathers make the lightest of brushes against Asa’s tip, Asa made a guttural, pleading sound, back arching desperately off the bed as he strained harder against the ties.

“I need your cock,” Asa gasped, decorum unravelling swiftly as Crowley stroked and sucked every inch of his stomach and thighs, occasionally giving his shaft the briefest lick or caress, barely enough to register. “My love, I need to feel you buried inside me, need to lose myself in you, oh god you’re so beautiful, don’t need to see you to know that … “ He paused, panting hard and no longer able to string words together, as Crowley stroked his wing right across the base of Asa’s cock and then down over his balls.

Crowley changed tactics then, picking one spot at a time and focussing on it until Asa was almost in tears with want and over-sensitivity. Crowley was in no hurry, it seemed, his wings and fingertips seeking out all Asa’s most sensitive parts.

“Please.” It came out as a sob. “Crowley please, if you don’t touch me soon, I may lose my mind.”

“If you want me to stop--”

“I don’t want you to stop, you fiend! I want you to touch me, damn it!”

“Oh, and what would you have me do?”

“Use me.” The words were out before Asa could stop them. “Own me, take me in whatever way you wish … just do something!”

“I want to hear that pretty mouth beg for it, and I can wait until you do.”

Asa felt himself flushing, his chest heating and heart hammering. He had never considered such … activities … indeed he had barely considered a physical relationship before Crowley. But he felt so safe with his Guardian, so unfettered, and he wanted so much to give himself to Crowley in every possible way. 

“Please, Crowley,” he breathed. “I’m begging you to claim me, mark me as yours ….. show the world I belong to you and no one else …..”

“So eloquent, even when you’re panting and moaning for me.” Crowley muttered in his ear and Asa, helplessly over-sensitized, couldn’t help bucking his hips in response. “Oh, my desperate angel …” Crowley circled the tip of Asa’s cock with his finger, drawing back the moment Asa lost control and moaned at the feeling. “Tell me who you belong to.”

“You …. You, Crowley, always, in every way there is ….”

“And what do you want?” The words were punctuated by Crowley rubbing his thumb across Asa’s lower stomach, so close to his cock that Asa felt himself getting harder, grunting and writhing as he struggled to get more of Crowley's touch.

“Own me.” Asa managed to say, his head spinning and body alive with ceaseless shivers.

When Asa felt Crowley’s legs straddling his shoulders, he gave a desperate, shaky moan. “Please oh please yes use my mouth Crowley, yes oh god I want you to ….”

“Who am I to deny you anything?” Crowley said, his voice warm and teasing but oh it was low and rough with desire too, and Asa could have listened to him for hours. Then he felt the tip of Crowley’s cock brush his lower lip, and any idea of words flew far away from him. All he could do was groan like a starving man, tongue immediately reaching to lick the hot flesh.

“Poor angel, I’ve kept you waiting so long, and you’ve been so good for me haven’t you? You deserve a treat.” Crowley said as he slid into Asa’s mouth, one hand fisting in Asa’s hair and pulling until every inch of his cock was buried in Asa’s throat. Asa whimpered at the weight of it, completely wrecked. When Crowley started grinding slowly, Asa wondered if it was possible to come just from the feel of Crowley’s thick shaft in his mouth. 

“You look so beautiful under my control like this.” Crowley told him between moans, holding Asa in place and working his hips slowly. Asa whimpered again, helpless to do anything but lick and suck enthusiastically, pulling desperately at his bonds, wishing he could touch Crowley’s long thighs and flat belly.

When Crowley pulled back, Asa feared he might die if he couldn’t put his mouth on him again immediately.

“Don’t worry angel.” Crowley’s voice oozed wickedness. “I’m going to make sure you know who you belong to.”

Then Asa felt the head of Crowley’s shaft against his lips, and the rhythmic movement of Crowley’s hand near his chin. Realisation dawned as he recalled their first time and the fact that Crowley could get around his lack of sensation by touching himself. Oh … oh god … Asa was quite certain he couldn’t handle the intensity of what was to come, and he wanted it more than anything in all his life.

“Yes.” He heard himself groan. “Please, please Crowley give it to me, let me taste you, oh fuck Crowley don’t stop …”

He was rewarded with a growl from Crowley and the feel of the Guardian’s precome dripping onto his tongue as Crowley stroked himself faster and faster. A sudden cry of pleasure from Crowley preceded the feel of his Guardian pushing between Asa’s lips, spilling into his mouth. He tasted of ozone and the sea and something deep and earthy, and Asa sobbed in ecstasy around Crowley’s cock.

When Crowley withdrew, Asa had shattered into a million pieces, and had quite lost all inhibition. 

“Fuck me,” he begged. “Crowley I can’t, I need, oh please I’m already so close, please put your cock inside me right now. I think I might die if you don’t …”

“Well, we can’t have that,” Crowley laughed, though it was lost to a moan as he slid his fingers, wet with lube, into Asa’s entrance, stretching and rubbing quickly.

“Crowley please!” Asa whined. “I need you to take me right now, don’t care if it’s rough, please darling give it to me …”

When Crowley responded by adding a third finger, spreading Asa wider open and moving his hand harder, Asa couldn’t do anything but shove his hips helplessly towards Crowley. Every press of Crowley’s fingers sent a bolt of tight heat through him, making him tremble and squirm.

“Crowley, please!” Asa was babbling now, incapable of anything more coherent than a litany of Crowley’s name, interspersed with pleas for Crowley to please let Asa feel his cock buried deep. When Crowley drew his fingers back and then untied Asa’s ankles, Asa whimpered in anticipation, head tossing on the pillow. Crowley pushed Asa’s legs back and open, and even though Asa couldn’t see his Guardian’s expression, the thought of being spread open for Crowley’s gaze made his cock throb.

Then he felt the soft pressure of Crowley’s tongue against his entrance and his whole body convulsed.

“No, no … Crowley I can’t hold back if you do that, please I want to come with your cock in me, I can’t bear it …”

“You can and you will.”

So saying, Crowley wrapped his fingers around Asa’s shaft and squeezed gently to help him hold back, while Asa felt his strong wings pinning Asa’s legs back. Then he thrust his tongue deep into Asa’s body, pushing and stroking deeper than any human could. Asa sobbed and whined his way through it, his body tightening helplessly against Crowley’s tongue.

Just when he thought he was going to lose control no matter what Crowley did to prevent it, his Guardian drew back. Asa keened at the loss, clenching against nothing, legs pushing mindlessly against Crowley’s wings. He could feel precum leaking onto his stomach, and then the sensation of Crowley trailing his fingers through the wetness before sliding them into Asa’s mouth. It felt so filthy but so good that Asa’s hips bucked involuntarily as he sucked Crowley’s fingers.

“Do you think you’ve earned this?” Crowley teased, nudging the tip of his shaft against Asa’s entrance.

“Yes please give it to me Crowley, fill me …”

“So good for me.” Crowley kissed him then, and Asa made helpless sounds of pleasure against his mouth as Crowley pushed into him. Crowley was thick enough that the stretch burned, but Asa was long past caring. He liked the hot pressure of Crowley taking him so quickly, and told his Guardian so, reveling in the way it made Crowley growl deep in his chest. Then Crowley’s arms were tight around him, and he was shoving his hips against Asa’s hard and fast, giving him what he needed.

“Yes darling, thank you, thank you, harder if you please, own me ….”

Crowley did as Asa begged, taking him in blazing, punishing thrusts that sparked a fire inside Asa every time he hit the most sensitive spot. Asa was already throbbing with over-stimulation, so that when Crowley growled and wrapped his fingers around Asa’s cock, he was coming before Crowley had even stroked him. He shouted Crowley’s name, sobbing with over-sensitivity as he spilled all over his own stomach and Crowley’s hand.

When he came back to himself, he was untied and lying curled on his side, wrapped in Crowley’s wings. Leaning up, he kissed Crowley softly.

“That was wonderful,” he told his Guardian honestly. “Was it .. was it everything you hoped?”

“More than.” Crowley nuzzled his face softly and Asa sighed with pleasure. “I can hardly believe you’re mine.”

“Believe it.” Asa wrapped his arms tighter around his Guardian. “I’ll never be anything else.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Let me know what you think ♥
> 
> **Behind the scenes notes**
> 
> My bts notes for this one are basically: _OMG CC what are you doing??? I can't write that!!!!_ And CC being like "well if Asa doesn't mind, neither should you."
> 
> Which, well played, Cheeky Crowley.


	10. Burns Supper (recipes)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On the 25th of January 1874, Asa went to a Burns Supper (a Scottish tradition to celebrate the life and work of the Scottish poet Robert Burns.) If you've read Aurency, you already know that on the way home from that fateful supper, he was almost run down by a carriage, which event broke the barriers between he and Crowley, and allowed them to finally interact.
> 
> My partner and I were both born in Scotland, but don't really celebrate Burns Night as such. This year however, they said to me, "we should do a Burns Supper. In honour of Asa!"
> 
> I thought a) I married a good one! And b) that's a great idea. I had been meaning to post a couple more recipes here as part of building Asa's world, and this seemed like a great opportunity :)

**(Mostly) Vegetarian Haggis**  
  
Now, I have eaten haggis. And it was nice. But it's hard to get here in England and honestly, the thought of eating organ meat freaks me out more than it did when I was younger! So we made this nearly vegetarian version. You could make it totally vegetarian by using vegetable stock instead of an Oxo cube.

**Ingredients (serves 6 - 8)**

  * 1.5 cups puy lentils, pre cooked
  * 250g pinhead oats
  * 1 onion finely chopped
  * 3 large flat mushrooms finely chopped
  * 1 large carrot grated
  * 400 ml vegetable stock or Oxo (or any other beef stock)
  * Handful each pumpkin seeds and walnuts, chopped small
  * Knob of butter or margarine
  * For flavouring, 1 tsp each of: Nutmeg, sage, thyme, and cumin, plus 0.5 tsp of black pepper and a squeeze of garlic puree
  * 3 generous teaspoons yeast extract



**Method**

  * Gently cook carrot, mushrooms and onion in margarine until softened
  * Add the lentils and flavourings and stir throughly
  * Make vegetable stock, and dissolve yeast extract in it
  * And stock and oats to vegetables in pan and stir in
  * Add nuts and seeds, and simmer gently uncovered for fifteen minutes
  * Place in an overproof dish and bake for 20 minutes at 180C, then ten minutes at 200C to crisp up the top



Serve with mashed potatoes, cabbage or sprouts, and mashed neeps with black pepper. Somewhat confusingly, neeps or turnips in Scotland refers to an orange root vegetable; in England turnips are small and white. I think the thing I call a neep, is what Americans call Rutabaga. Clear as mud? Awesome.

It's traditional on Burns Night to have a bagpiper pipe in the haggis, and then to recite the Address to a Haggis. If you don't play bagpipes you can do as we did and play a YouTube video lol. You can read the Address to a Haggis [here](https://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poem/address-haggis/). I read it to the best of my ability with my English accent, but I'm sure Asa's version was much nicer with that sweet Scottish burr of his!  
  
I'm not sure Asa would approve of the vegetarian haggis mind you. But it's the thought that counts, right.

 **Cranachan**  
  
In Aurency, Asa makes cranachan to take to his Burns Supper. Cranachan is a delicious dish of cream, honey, whisky, raspberries, and toasted oatmeal.  
  
**Ingredients (serves four)**

  * 350 ml double cream
  * 300 g raspberries
  * 1 dessertspoon honey (or more if you want it sweeter)
  * 2 tbsp whisky
  * 2 tbsp medium oatmeal



**Method**

  * Put half the raspberries in a bowl and mash with a fork till mostly smooth
  * Add the whisky and honey to the cream and whip until just set
  * Taste the mixture and add more whisky or honey if needed
  * Toast the oatmeal by dry frying in a heated nonstick pan or wok. It's done when it goes very light golden brown and smells nutty.
  * Fold the oatmeal into the whipped cream
  * To assemble, layer the cream mixture, mashed raspberries, and whole raspberries in a glass



Confession: We overwhipped the cream!! At first we were like OH NO. Then I remembered that in Asa's time Cranachan was made with soft cheese instead of cream, so the texture was probably more authentic, lol. It tasted good anyway.  
  
So there we are, Asa's Burns Night Supper, and a commoration of the date he and CC finally got to talk. Or as my partner put it, Happy Aurency Day!


	11. The Cutest Crowley (art)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roo surprised me with this gorgeous picture of CC, and gave me permission to share it!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will never be able to get enough of his adorable handsome face. Don't you just know he's staring lovingly at Asa there? I wonder what Asa was doing? I imagine something mundane like shelving books and muttering about customers wanting to buy them. Or maybe making tea and hunting for those biscuits that he just knows he's stashed somewhere. But that's enough to have Crowley's heart fluttering.
> 
> Edited to add: I think he's trying to figure out Crowley's favourite tea, as he was so obsessed with that during Aurency. It's after Sachiel made Crowley able to eat and drink, and Asa is rooting through his cupboards pulling out all of his teas going "is it this one? No, maybe you'd prefer this one? This might be too light in flavour .... hmmm, that's an acquired taste ... oh blast it all dear boy perhaps I should just give you whisky."
> 
> Sometime between this picture and A Very Aurency Christmas, he figures out that CC likes Assam, which is absolutely an author self-insert. Asa tried to persuade him to choose Scottish breakfast tea, which has Assam in it but is smoother, but CC liked the strong, bright, take-no-prisoners flavour of unadulterated Assam.


End file.
